Holmes 9-year-old shoots himself with BB gun

Published: November 29, 2000 12:00AM

A 9-year-old boy was treated and released from the emergency room at Pomerene Hospital Monday evening after he accidentally shot himself in the head with a BB gun.

The boy was taken to the hospital by his mother. He had been carrying the loaded gun in his home along U.S. Route 62 near Dundee, when he accidentally shot himself in the left temple, according to a Holmes County Sheriff's Office report.

The BB will have to be surgically removed, according to Capt. Tim Aurand of the sheriff's office.

In an attempt to prevent such accidents from happening, the sheriff's office has been active in educating local children through the Eddie Eagle Gun Safety Program. The program focuses on teaching children what to do if they find a gun, said instructor Sgt. Kurt Butcher.

"We teach them to stop, don't touch, leave the area and tell an adult," he said.

Understanding many people in the county hunt and have guns in their homes, it is important to keep guns secured, Butcher said. He suggests guns be locked up, and ammunition be kept in a different location.

And, he said, "BB guns and pellet guns are just as lethal as a .22 or a hunting gun," he said. "You need to treat BB guns and pellet guns, and all others, as being loaded all the time -- they can kill you."

He reminds all gun handlers never to point a gun at anyone, and always keep the barrel pointed to the ground.

Butcher further encourages parents of young people interested in hunting to register their child for a hunter safety course, available through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Parents also can implement a hands-on method of reinforcing gun safety, and the biggest suggestion Butcher has is to tell children, "Don't touch the gun unless there is an adult with you."